Hackers Take Advantage of TurboTax Clients

Hackers are attempting at exploiting TurboTax clients as they have already been scared with tax fraud apparently going on since the 1st-week of February 2015, published money.cnn.com dated February 10, 2015.

It maybe noted that TurboTax is a special software company that has the maximum demand in USA. When frauds started getting reported, the software halted tax return e-filings for one single day. Following investigation, the widely used tax preparer stated the software hadn't been hacked, so filing of forms resumed.

However, one other problem appeared.

On 9th February 2015, Mountain View, California (USA) based Intuit the parent company of TurboTax uploaded 3 security alerts to the company's website cautioning that fraudulent, phishing electronic mails were hitting TurboTax clients.

Having a caption "Your TurboTax Account: Action Needed," one sample phishing e-mail cautioned receivers about dubious attempts being performed for signing into their A/Cs as well as asked them to click on one given web-link for confirming their identity to update the company's records, the first security alert stated.

The second one told that one fake e-mail having the caption "Update Notification" stressed on account updating by TurboTax users by the next 48-hrs alternatively be asked to pay an extra fee. The third alert related to another e-mail, which requested receivers for substantiating their log-in details.

Quite frequently, the sender's id in the phishing e-mails was mysterious so the messages originated out of carden@ptd.net, loer@gardener.com or kapuaponi@hawaiiantel.net.

In today's Internet age, phishing is widely prevalent with a few of such bogus e-mails trying towards getting receivers for taking down malware whilst others entice receivers towards giving away Social Security Numbers, usernames and passwords, else credit card and bank account details. Such details then get utilized for accumulating spurious credit-charges alternatively creating fresh card accounts.

TurboTax stated that clients who thought they succumbed to fraud could contact at the toll-free 1-800-944-8596 number as well as incase they thought they got one fraudulent e-mail they must send that message to spoof@intuit.com of Intuit. The firm further stated that it would give free service for ID-protection as well as credit monitoring for the benefit of all those who were impacted.

» SPAMfighter News - 3/2/2015